About

About RawCurious.net

Hello and welcome to RawCurious, a food blog featuring healthy recipes made from natural whole foods, with a particular emphasis on clean carbs (mostly low glycemic), lean protein and healthy fats. Oh, and there will be the odd “splurge” recipe from time to time, of course.

I started this site for three main reasons:

• To help get the word out and demonstrate to people that raw food isn’t just for vegans and vegetarians anymore. People need to know that everyone, no matter their eating style, can enjoy many awesome health benefits by adding more fruits and vegetables (raw and cooked) to their diet. These benefits are not limited only to strict herbivores and eating your veggies CAN, in deed, be a delicious and satisfying experience.
• To chronicle the culinary aspects of my transition from a primarily meat-based diet to a healthier lifestyle. Changing my diet has forced me to become more creative in my cooking since meat is no longer the focal point of my meals. My cooking, my taste buds and the way I think about food are being drastically transformed in the process.
• To share recipes for the different ways I incorporate more fruits and vegetables (raw and cooked) into my diet and the culinary adventures that occur along the way.

Why the name RawCurious?

Initially, I made the mistake of assuming that the name would pretty much speak for itself, but after having been asked this question more than once, I decided to answer it here for those who might be totally unfamiliar with the raw food concept. I chose the name mainly because of my unyielding curiosity about raw foods, how to prepare them and the impact they would have on my health. For more information about raw food, read here.

As for the tagline – Embracing A New Paradigm – well, that’s exactly what I’m doing. Once I learned of the awesome health benefits of eating more raw veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds, I was intrigued and could hardly wait to see what they would do for me. So, I have chosen to adopt the best practices of the raw food eating model and integrate them into my daily eating habits as a means of improving my health and enhancing my overall lifestyle.

About Me – The RawCurious Foodista

I am dichotomy personified. Seriously playful, yet unyieldingly serious. Acutely intelligent, but prone to ‘blond’ moments. Left-brain logical, yet right-brain creative. Strong and weak. A flawed perfectionist. Candid, yet reserved. Complex in my simplicity. The quintessential romantic. Sensitive, but sensible. An adventurous, international foodista. Lover of delicious, healthful foods and African and Indian cuisines. Addicted to jazz, curries, lattes, wine and Masala Chai. I love orange in summertime. Not a writer, but an accountant who loves to cook and tell. I prefer crunching recipes in lieu of numbers. Armed with a passion for life and good food, tons of cookbooks, an active imagination — and tight jeans! I associate with lots of people, but I pick my friends like I pick my fruit. I am like that only!

Hi, I’m Lynne! Raw Curious is my latest project, my new baby, if you will. Before I go any further, I’d like to make a few things understood up front. I am not a vegan, vegetarian or raw foodist! I am simply, as the name of this site says, curious about raw/living foods. This site is all about my journey to a healthier lifestyle, enjoying high-quality eating experiences and preparing the foods that create them.

And just to be clear, I am not one of those people who goes around preaching at others about what, when or how they should eat and I do not turn my nose up at other people’s food choices simply because they are not like mine. I’ve run across waaaaay too many vegans, vegetarians and raw foodists who are total food snobs and quite rude to people who have not chosen to embrace a vegan, vegetarian or raw food diet and lifestyle. I find that appalling and I have very little patience with such people.

Yes, I do believe that many people eat way too much meat (I was one of them), but at the same time, I respect their right to do so. What people choose to eat (or not) is personal and I believe that people should be allowed to peacefully decide for themselves. However, I do share information on this site, my Facebook page and my Twitter account regarding the the benefits of a mostly plant-based diet and the health implications associated with excessive consumption of meat and animal products. The information is there for those who are interested and can be ignored by those who are not.

Generally speaking, I am an evolving eater who has simply chosen to eliminate those foods from my diet that no longer serve me well. So, in case you didn’t read it above – I am not a vegetarian. There WILL be fish and seafood recipes here. More specifically, I would describe myself as an evolving eater with strong vegetarian and raw food tendencies, who is transitioning to a more balanced lifestyle by embracing a highly plant-based, semi-raw diet. I say “highly plant-based, semi-raw” because I have no plans to eliminate all cooked foods, fish, seafood, dairy and eggs from my diet completely. But rest assured that a major portion of my diet is (and will always be) plant-based. I believe in it, mos def!

I eliminated most pork from my diet years ago, but I had been clinging on to bacon periodically because I liked using it in some of the dishes I prepared. I’m happy to say that I was able to let the bacon go entirely in mid-2011. During the last half of 2011, I significantly reduced the amount of poultry in my diet to a couple of days a week and I cut my red meat consumption even further, to about two or three days a month. All of this was quite drastic for me considering that I was a die-hard, everyday meat eater who almost always had meat with lunch and dinner, pretty often for breakfast and sometimes multiple meats at once.

I finally gave up eating red meat and all poultry completely in December 2011 and my diet is now roughly 75 percent plant-based. The other 25 percent consists mainly of Greek yoghurt, wild-caught fish and seafood, eggs and select cheeses. Again, I am not a vegan or vegetarian. I do what works for me! I am now working towards further reducing the amount of cooked foods I consume and increasing my raw food intake to a consistent 50 percent.

By slowly eliminating red meat, poultry and most dairy from my diet and eating more raw fruit, veggies (both fresh and cooked), legumes, nuts and seeds, I managed to drop 70 pounds (that’s right, 70) by the end of 2011 (and that was with hardly any exercise until the last couple of months of the year.) As a result, I feel better than I have in many, many years. I still have quite a bit further to go with the weight loss, but I am beyond excited with my progress so far. I can hardly wait to see the results of adding even more fresh, plant-based foods to my diet and exercising regularly. Once I have met my weight loss goal, I will add a “Before & Now” section to let everyone see the difference that embracing a new paradigm in eating has made in my life.

I am a work in progress. To be continued. . .

Namasté

Lynne

UPDATE – March 24, 2012: As of this morning’s weigh-in, I have lost 83 pounds — and counting! ;-)